Conserving Wildlife

Habitat loss, climate change and human greed are driving species loss at an unsustainable rate. Through data, technology and science, conservation efforts can be informed and developed to protect threatened species and restore balance to ecosystems.

The Great Elephant Census

The results of Paul Allen's Great Elephant Census released in 2016 showed a 30 percent decline in Africa's savanna elephant population based in large part to the poaching crisis. These data were used in policy and outreach measures to establish better protection of this threatened species.

Domain Awareness System (DAS)

DAS is a tool that aggregates the positions of radios, vehicles, aircraft, animal sensors and other new technologies to provide protected area managers with a real-time dashboard that depicts the status of the wildlife being protected, and the people and resources protecting them.

Global FinPrint

In collaboration with Florida International University, FinPrint is the first-ever global survey of shark and rays in the coral reef ecosystems, providing critical baseline and trend data in more than 400 coral reef locations.

Ivory DNA analysis

Research from University of Washington's Dr. Samuel Wasser that uses DNA from confiscated ivory to identify its geographic source has revealed Africa's two worst poaching hotspots. This data can be used to increase law enforcement and disrupt the organized transnational crime that is driving the poaching crisis.

CITES compliance and implementation

Our 2016 support of the successful efforts to list 13 shark and ray species on the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) included collaboration with Pew Charitable Trust, the Global Shark and Ray Initiative, and Project Seahorse.